The FEI World Reining Championship Begins

The very first edition of the FEI World Reining Championship, being held at the Palasturla in Manerbio, Italy, is underway September 11-14, with 48 riders from 17 countries competing for the highly coveted Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) medals.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United States are represented by the finest horse-and-rider combinations in the world.

The 2008 World Reining Championship event marks the first time in the history of the sport of reining that FEI medals will be awarded outside the World Equestrian Games (WEG).

The very first reining demonstration at the WEG was held in Rome in 1998 with 11 countries represented. Reining was accepted as an FEI discipline two years later and the sport was officially included in the 2002 WEG held in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

During the 2008 Championship event, competitors are riding for the $70,000 Team and $30,000 Individual competitions. The Team Competition will be held on September 12; the best 20 competitors from the Team event, including ties for 20th place, will qualify for the Individual Competition, which will be held on September 14.

Competing in the Championship are five outstanding horse-and-rider combinations representing the United States. They are:

Rider: SCHMERSAL, CRAIG
Horse: MR DUAL REY 2000 – QUARTER HORSE (Stallion)
Owner: CASEY, HOLLY (USA)

Rider: LARSON, JORDAN
Horse: LENA GALLO 2000 – QUARTER HORSE (Stallion)
Owner: Lapke Q.H. (USA)

Rider: KYLE, PETE
Horse: A BUENO POCO DUNIT 2001 – QUARTER HORSE (Mare)
Owner: HOLT, SANDI (USA)

Rider: MCCUTCHEON, TOM
Horse: RUF HEARTED JAC 1999 – QUARTER HORSE (Stallion)
Owner: WILLEMAN, SARAH (USA)

Rider: MILLS, MATT
Horse: MARK THIS CLOUD 2001 – PAINT HORSE (Stallion)
Owner: FINCH, SANDRA (USA)